A History of Scouting in the V.I.

by Loh Kok Kin

(5) From British Colony To Malaysianhood (1955-1963)

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n the 1950’s, Kuala Lumpur was still clad with rubber estates and forest, especially outside the city centre. Despite newly-gained independence it was an era when affluence was still the privilege of a select few. Besides, affluence could not guarantee safety as the restrictions of the Malayan Emergency applied indiscriminately to all people. It is in this political, economic and social milieu that one should place the developments of V.I. Scouting between 1955 and 1963.

Facilities of any kind were not easy to come by. In terms of transportation, the Scouts usually biked to the nearer spots, like Klang gates and Pongsoon Dusun Tua, and Kepong. When bikes could not carry their equipment, they were dropped off by their families. A lot of times, they just hiked from the School with their equipment. Navigation was not difficult given the light traffic of those times! For camping trips out of town, some parents (especially the wealthier ones) would provide a chauffeur and station wagon, usually a trusty Peugeot, Austin or Hillman to ferry the Scouts. Some ASM’s would drive their own cars, all loaded up with tents and other equipment on the roof, to distant destinations like Pangkor. Then there were train trips, or bus rides to those far off places. For instance, the Scouts could take a bus from Foch Avenue (now Jalan Cheng Lock) to Seremban, then change buses for Port Dickson. Such was living simply.

Yet, living simply did not necessarily mean that the Scouts had a hard time. Indeed, the Scouts had an enjoyable time whenever they put their Scouting skills to full use. One aspect of this was camp life. As Koh Tong Bak (First KL ASM and Pengakap Raja) and Kuan Beng Teik (Second KL ASM, Pengakap Raja and School Captain 1963) recall, they usually ate well at camp, depending on where the camp was. The First KL Scouts would usually send two Scouts on behalf of the entire troop to the local market to buy fresh food while in Second KL, they sent the Treasurer as the representative. Sometimes, these marketing boys could get fish, poultry or vegetables from the generous local residents for free! Back at camp, the Scouts cooked mostly curry (chicken or beef) and of course vegetables (especially long beans which kept well, and potatoes and large onions). Every boy brought at least one tin of canned food, usually Spam (the famous staple - spiced ham - of the US Forces during World War 2), corned beef or sardines, but they tried to get fresh ingredients every morning. Tong Bak also recalls that sometimes, he even bought a whole leg of lamb or rabbit meat (from Cold Storage) that they cooked over the campfire like a real barbecue.

But while the Scouts had a grand time, not all was right with the V.I. Scouting movement.

SHORTAGE OF EXPERIENCED AND WILLING SCOUT MASTERS

When the Emergency was declared in 1948, it was not simply a far-off political move. There was a demand for fit and loyal citizens to join the military or police or at least to "help in the fight against Banditry", as urged by the authorities at that time. This message was strongly felt by Second KL when Mr Chin Peng Lam, their Scout Master, left to become a Police Inspector on 4 June 1954. His skills as a Woodbadger would have equipped him well to undertake such an important service to his country. But for Second KL, it left a vacuum that was to transform the administrative structure of the Group. Due to the absence of a Scout Master in the Boy Scout Troop, what more a skilled one, student leaders had to fill the vacuum. Since the boys were in their formative years and were less mature or autonomous than the Senior Scouts, the role of the leader was extremely crucial. Arguably, the student Scout leaders (the main ones have been named in this section) of the 1950’s and early were pioneers in this experiment.

This philosophy soon drove change in Second KL. After three years of Mr Chin as the redoubtable Scout Master of the Boy Scouts, Second KL had problems replacing him. In the 1955 Victorian , the Scout Master name slot on the roll of honour reads: "Applications invited - but only the brave need apply!" So formidable was his reputation that the Second KL Troop secretary, Jeff (probably ASM Jaafar b. Sidek), could not resist the temptation to lampoon him further with "since then (Mr Chin becoming a Police Inspector) most of the boys have been arrested for something or other! " Only a person of similar charisma would dare to step into the shoes of such a leader - and there was no replacement more suitable than Kamarul Ariffin b. Mohamed Yassin (See A Gallery of Scouting Greats). Kamarul returned to the school in 1954 to do his Post-Senior Cambridge, and assumed the role of Scout Master (having previously been ASM). However, this plan was short-lived as, after a few months, he left to read Law at Lincoln’s Inn, perhaps after "successfully laying down the law to a lot of very naughty Scouts" (as quoted from the 1955 Victorian). After Kamarul left, Queen Scout ASM Jaafar b. Sidek had to helm the troop alone, in his third consecutive year as ASM of the Boy Scouts. Meanwhile, the dearth of scouters was beginning to be felt by the Second KL Seniors when S.M. Mr Geoffrey Geldard left in the beginning of 1956 after three years of service to the Troop. His departure was followed by Queen Scout ASM Yoong Wah Pin (ASM since 1953), who retired in order to concentrate on his HSC.

Such forces of changes in administration structure were not unique to Second KL, though First KL experienced less turbulent change. In the Senior Troop, Mr Wong Peng Kong, the Scout Master since 1952, left after 1956 (he returned in 1959). During his absence, there was no teacher willing to take up the post. Meanwhile, the Boy Scout Troop also had a shortage of leaders in the mid-1950’s and the Scout Master Mr C. Ayadurai was saddled with the onerous burden of leading the Troop alone. Mr Yeoh Chong Bok took over that role in 1957.

Fortunately, amidst the storm, there were two sturdy rudders to provide continuity to the V.I. Scouts in the form of their Group Scout Masters. For Second KL, Mr T.J. Appaduray served the Group from 1955 to 1964. A for First KL, GSM Mr Sadhu Singh was replaced by Mr Chan Bing Fai, who held the post between 1955 and 1965. Mr Chan had himself been a Scout in Second KL while in the V.I. as a student, and he had been at Kirkby, England between 1952 and 1954. (See An Evening With Two Former Scout Masters (2001).) Interestingly, Mr Chan has had a spiritual connection with the V.I. scouts even before he became Scout Master. When he was a student at Batu Road Primary School, one of Mr Chan’s teachers was Mr Choong Wan Chan, the first King Scout of the V.I. and of Selangor. Thus, who better to hold the post of GSM than someone with such a spiritual connection?

In essence, there were two major problems that befell the V.I. Scouts in the mid-1950’s, namely a dearth of leaders and (to be discussed later) an acute shortage of members. Indeed, with these problems, the quality of Scouting and the attractiveness of the Group were put at risk. The Fourth KL Air Scout Group had suffered from both problems even in the early 1950’s. As Mr Chan Bing Fai and Mr Chin Peng Lam recall, the Fourth KL Group always emerged last among the V.I. Scout Groups during the Scout Event at Sports Day in the early 1950’s. Ensuring the survival of the Group necessitated some administrative shuffling such as the transfer of GSM Mr Sadhu Singh (formerly the First KL Group Scout Master) to take charge of the Fourth KL Group in 1955. However, this could not delay the inevitable where the Fourth KL Air Scout Group had to be amalgamated with First KL in 1955.

LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES AND THE STUDENTS

How did the remaining Troops solve their leadership problems? In short, through the return of dedicated elder ex-Scouts to take up leadership positions. For First KL, these dedicated Scouts included Nasir Ahmad Ibrahim and Chen Yik Fei (Scout Masters of the Seniors 1957 to 1959) and also Ooi Boon Teck and Arnold S. (ASM’s in 1956). As for Second KL, after his HSC, Jaafar Sidek became the Scout Master of the Seniors. As for the Second KL Boy Scouts, they were fortunate to find a willing teacher in Mr Valentine Manuel, who became their Scout Master in 1957/1958. After the turbulent mid-1950’s, the turmoil in the administration of both Groups soon dispersed, at least for a while.

Then in the early 1960’s, Second KL again experienced a lack of people interested in becoming Scout Masters of either their Boy Scout or Senior Troops. After 1959, when Mr Valentine Manuel left, there were no Scout Masters for both the Boy Scout and Senior Troops for several years, except Mr David Waghorn from Kinrara Hospital who was temporarily Scout Master of the Seniors in 1960. This increased the importance of the role of the ASM and student leaders in Second KL in particular and the V.I. Scouting movement in general. This wave of change also swept through the First KL Group. However, their change occurred not so much because of the lack of Scout Masters, but because of the frequent change in Scout Masters after the 1950’s. Mr Yeoh Chong Bok left the Boy Scouts after 1962 and Mr Wong Peng Kong left the Seniors after 1963. Hence, there was an increased onus placed on the ASM’s to shoulder the responsibilities that hitherto were a Scout Master’s. In fact, there was a further decentralisation of power in 1963. That year, the First KL Seniors had no Scout Master when Koh Tong Bak and Lim Pang Hon (both ASM’s) left for university and there was no one to fill their shoes. As a result the administration of the Senior Troop was delegated to the Senior Scout Court Of Honour (COH), consisting of the Troop Leader and Senior Patrol Leaders. The COH's role eventually grew in importance in both Groups, to the extent that it was choosing the agenda for weekly Troop meetings, as well as discussing and solving problems of the Troop with the Scouters.

Whilst over the years many ASM’s came and went, there is one ASM deserving of special mention. In early 1960, First KL was joined by a new ASM in the person of Corporal John Lever of the R.E.M.E. then stationed in Gurney Road. Convinced of his capabilities and dedication, the First KL Seniors approached and persuaded him to become their ASM. Lever was a treasured find as he contributed much towards the Troop. For instance, on 2 June 1961, First KL was presented with a thousand dollars’ worth of camping equipment by the 656 Light Aircraft Squadron who were stationed at Malaya Command (Lever himself was a member of the squadron). By the time John Lever returned to England on 24 February 1962, he had left a myriad of happy memories for the First KL Seniors to cherish. Together with SM Mr Wong Peng Kong, ASM Corporal Lever imparted many skills, such as mountaineering, and inspired the First KL Seniors to a very high level of Scouting ability.

Indeed, the role of Scout leaders in lifting the standards of a Troop cannot be underestimated. Mr Wong, who worked in the mapping department of the Government, served as SM of the First KL Seniors from 1952 to 1956 and 1959 to 1963. He was then the ADC for Kuala Lumpur and inspired his charges with many stories and disciplined them to rigid standards. It is said that he would string pieces of campsite scrap into a necklace and drape it around an errant PL’s neck. Alternatively, he would bring out a 'supposedly' dirty/used underwear/ brief of his, soak it in a pan of water, and squeeze it over the offender's head!

COMMITMENT TO SCOUTING - MEMBER SHORTAGE

The scenario of rapid change around and within the V.I. scouting movement surely had much impact on the movement itself. Many questions can be asked. What was the effect of the 1954 departure of Sir Gerald Templer, Chief Commissioner of Scouting in Malaya and a good friend of the V.I. scouts? What happened as a result of the flux and reflux in the administration of the two V.I. Troops? To answer these questions, one must examine the commitment towards V.I. Scouting, particularly in terms of its popularity and in terms of its ability to produce skilled members.

Whilst the V.I. Scouting movement was very popular in its infant years, and even just after the Second World War, the numbers started dwindling rapidly in the mid-1950’s. There are many possible explanations. For instance, just after the War, the Scouts were the only uniformed movement in the School and when the Cadet Corps was rejuvenated in 1953, the Scouts had to share its recruit pool with them. Another possible reason is that the machismo of the Cadet Corps may have been more attractive during that period of the Malayan Emergency. Whatever the reason, it was undeniable that one of the lowest ebbs in the V.I. Scouting membership base was reached during the mid-1950’s. In Second KL, there was a private joke that "there were more Scouters than Scouts!". First KL was not trouble-free either, even after amalgamating with Fourth KL. As Koh Tong Bak recalls, he may have been the only Form 1 recruit in 1956 for First KL! Even in 1957, the Troop Secretary for First KL reported that "... the Troop has not been very active."

Below is a table of the membership strength of both Troops:

	FIRST KL		SECOND KL
Year	Seniors	Boy Scouts	Seniors	Boy Scouts
1955	16	N/A	N/A	N/A
1956	15	25	N/A	N/A
1957	N/A	About 20	N/A	N/A
1958	28	22	10	43
1959	25	45	20	32
1960	About 25	30	18	29
1961	20	N/A	N/A	25
1962	20	N/A	15	15
1963	40	60	15	N/A

 

The numbers of both Troops seemed to be lowest even in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. However, there was a spike in the First KL membership in 1963, while Second KL membership continued to dwindle. In fact, in the 1963 Victorian, the Second KL Boy Scout secretary remarked, probably only half in jest, that "At the present moment, we need recruits badly… queue up in front of the Scout Den during the interval… go in and turn RIGHT." One could offer many reasons for the relative success of First KL, one, for instance, being the remarkable partnership of ASM Lever and ADC Mr Wong which had lifted the standards of First KL so much such that its appeal to recruits was irresistible.

COMMITMENT TO SCOUTING - BADGE ACHIEVEMENTS

(Note that Victorian has not always been very clear on how many King Scouts were produced in year X. Often, the report would state the number of King Scouts present in the Troop in year X, which is not necessarily the same as the number that was produced in that particular year).

In spite of the low number of recruits, the V.I. Troops continued to emphasise the importance of badgework. Training courses were organised such as the First KL First Class Training Course on 21 March 1955 and boys were also sent to attend organisation run courses like firefighting at the Shaw Road Fire Station. Their commitment to developing scouting efficiency paid off when TL S. Arnold first received his Bushman’s Thong and, not long after, his Queen Scout Certificate. The Second KL Scouts were not to be left behind. In 1955, there were six Bushman's Thong holders among them. Out of that six, five were predicted to get their Queen Scout award by the end of 1955. Among those who won the award were S Arnold and T Mahendran. Meanwhile, all the Second KL Boy Scouts, most of them not quite 15 years old, had earned their First Class Badge and many of them the Scout Cord too.

In 1956, nearly half the Boy Scouts of First KL (out of a total of 25) were Second Class Scouts, and were working towards their First Class badges. Those who had in fact gained their First Class Badges were four Senior Scouts, while two other Senior Scouts earned the Bushman’s Thong. TL Lee Chan however, was the toast of the troop for that year when he became a Queen Scout. Meanwhile, seven Second KL Scouts obtained their First Class badges, with PL Chong Sun Yeh gaining the Scout Cord (the Boy Scout equivalent of the King Scout award). In the Senior Troop of Second KL, four Queen Scouts were produced in 1956, namely PL Low Thin Wing, Teh Kein Seng, PL Khoo Choong Keow and S Sundram, while three others gained their Bushman’s Thong. In contrast to this spectacular achievement, one year later, in 1957, little is reported about badge accomplishments, except that one Second KL Senior had gained his Bushman’s Thong. The 1958 Victorian also failed to mention badge achievements.

There was better news in 1959 when 15 First KL Scouts acquired their Bushman’s Thong and several more were on the verge of qualifying for it when the report was written for the School magazine. For the First KL Boy Scouts, there was also much progress with proficiency badges like Cook and Camp badges as well as Athlete and Swimmer badges. The 1960 Victorian noted that, in the previous year, two Boy Scouts had gained the Scout Cord. Second KL also had good news to report in 1959. Some boys who had joined the troop at the beginning of the year had already passed Second Class and were well on their way towards First Class.

The good news kept rolling in the following year when many Boy Scouts in First KL were working on their Second and First Class badges, while in Second KL, PL Khoo Teck Soon obtained the Scout Cord. As for the Seniors, there were nine First KL Seniors who were holding the Bushman’s Thong, while in Second KL, TL Lee On Wing and Tan Soon Heng qualified to become Pengakap Rajas. 1961 continued the streak of good news for Second KL. PL Law Choo Cheng, Keong Hock Ann, Foo Yeow Leong and Lam Ngoh Chai gained the Scout Cord that year. In the Senior Troop, there were six Bushman’s Thong holders while three Seniors gained their Pengakap Raja award, including Kuan Beng Teik. In 1962, eight Seniors from First KL gained the Pengakap Raja award during a day of competitions on 24 February (in commemoration of Founders’ Day on 22 February) at Castle Camp. In 1963, there were four Pengakap Raja’s and two Bushman’s Thong holders among the First KL Seniors while there were seven Pengakap Rajas in the Second KL Senior Troop.

It was noted earlier that the many changes around and within the Troops would have exerted an impact on boys’ commitment to Scouting. We now look at the impact on the activeness of the V.I. Troops. After all, Scouting is not just about badges, but also about the activities. The First and Second KL Scouters realised and understood this only too well, and they worked hard to organise a variety of activities so that their boys would also enjoy Scouting for the activity that it is.

TROOP ACTIVITIES

Initially, in the mid-1950’s, the activity days of both Scout Groups did not seem coordinated. There were weekly meetings on Saturdays (First KL in 1955), Tuesday evenings (Second KL Seniors in 1956 and 1957) and Saturday mornings (Second KL in 1958). However, due to the dearth of members in the 1950’s, meetings were sometimes held only fortnightly. In the late 1950’s, the V.I. was fortunate to have Dr GED Lewis as Headmaster. He was a strong advocate of extra-mural activities and was very generous in opening the School even on Sundays for activities. Thus, from 1959, weekly Sunday meetings became the norm, both for the Senior and Boy Scout Troops of both Scout Groups. Meetings would be held for about two hours of activities. As before, these meetings included a Swimming period, which took place before the meeting in School. Sometimes the Senior Troops held theirs in the countryside, as was done fortnightly by the Second KL Seniors in 1963. Of course, besides official Troop meetings, the patrols would also have their patrol meetings whether in School or outside.

Swimming as part of weekend meetings was certainly one of the favourite activities, as was noted even as far back as in the 1955 Victorian. If one thinks that boring, then consider some other aquatic activities of 1956. That year, the Second KL Senior Scouts participated in a Raft Race on the Klang River during the Scout Week. Five bamboo rafts were constructed by the boys themselves for the 2.5 mile race. All the rafts came within the first six positions. After the competition, those rafts were conveyed to the Lower Ampang Road mining pool for the occasional country rendezvous on weekends. The Seniors spent many hours rafting, swimming and basking in the sun at that invigorating spot. Indeed, the Scouts were most resourceful when it came to enjoying themselves in water!

Learning scouting skills was an important part of Troop meetings, and could not be compromised even when membership was low. Boy Scout activities included knotting, scout craft, rope-climbing, boxing (for First KL), singing, badge-work and games. For the Seniors, their activities included boxing (for First KL), signalling, rope-climbing, hiking, improving themselves in Scoutcraft and mountaineering (which was a novelty). The Scouts also followed courses administered by external bodies. For instance, eight Second KL Boy Scouts attended a Patrol Training Course held by the District Boy Scouts Association in Fraser’s Hill in April 1962. Besides acquiring knowledge during official scout time, the Scouts also spent time outside meetings pursuing other interests. For example, many Seniors had a profound appreciation of nature and took pains to collect different forest specimens as well as common tree leaves from Bukit Nanas. They also ventured into the secluded valleys at the Lake Gardens to capture elusive but rare species of butterflies. Appreciation of nature has always been an integral part of the Scout’s character.

In pursuit of greater scouting efficiency, several major inter-patrol competition trophies were presented in this epoch. In 1958, the SM Mr Yeoh Chong Bok, gave the First KL Boy Scouts a shield, thereafter named the Bone trophy, for their inter-patrol competitions. As of 1959, it was a termly competition where the patrol that had accumulated the most marks during term’s inter-patrol competitions such as pioneering, first aid, camping, games, contests and swimming would win the trophy. Second KL Boy Scouts also had their inter-patrol competitions, though instead of termly, theirs was monthly, as stated in the 1959, 1960 and 1961 Victorians. The month’s best patrol was awarded a shield together with a prize. It was a little later before the First KL Seniors also had a prize for inter-patrol competitions when a beer mug was presented by ASM John Lever. The 1963 Victorian recorded that the competition was staged during fortnightly meetings and culminated in a competition in Port Dickson during the first term holidays. The second term saw an inter-Senior patrol games competition, where patrols competed against each other in Badminton, Swimming, Basketball, Table Tennis and Athletics. Likewise, the Second KL Seniors also had inter-patrol competitions based on Tenderfoot, Second and First Class work in the form of games, swimming, obstacles, contests and building of pioneering projects.

The V.I. Scouts, particularly the Seniors, looked forward very keenly to activities that involved travelling distances. Such distances were either covered on bicycle or on foot. Of course, such ‘luxury’ of cycling came at a cost of longer travelling distances. For instance, a novel activity in 1955 for Second KL was a Durian Hunt. The Seniors charted their arduous journey through flooded roads to Malacca and back, only to find that the only durians ripe and stinking enough to eat were on sale at Peel Road, back in Kuala Lumpur! Indeed, Second KL was fortunate to have as their leader, Geoffrey ‘Skipper’ Geldard, who brimmed with enthusiasm and always had a myriad of plans up his sleeve. In 1955, these included a trip to the Outward Bound School in Lumut (where the Warden Mr Fuller let the scouts sample some of the activities of the OBS course) and participation in the Federation-wide Senior Scout Adventure Journey in August. The following year, there was even a cycling trip to Singapore and back! (See A Cycling Trip to Singapore (1956)). Several other outings and expeditions are recorded in the following list (which is not exhaustive):

YEAR	EXPEDITION / OUTING	TROOP
1956	Singapore (Cycling for 500 miles!)	Second KL Seniors
	Port Dickson (Cycling)
	Batu Caves (Cycling)
1958	Templer’s Park (Cycling)	Second KL Seniors
	Kepong Forest Reserve (Excursion)	First KL Seniors and Boy Scouts
	Pulau Bong Soon (Excursion)	First KL Seniors
1959	Agricultural Valley (Overnight hike)	First KL Boy Scouts
	Pongsoon (Picnic)
1960	Templer’s Park (Cycling)	Second KL Seniors and Boy Scouts
	Pongsoon (Picnic)	Second KL Boy Scouts
	Kenny Hill (Hiking)
1961	Bukit Lanjat (Climbing)	Second KL Seniors
	Templer’s Park (Cycling)
1962	Pangkor Island (Cycling)	Second KL Seniors
1963	Templer’s Park (Cycling)	Second KL Seniors
	Batu Caves (Cycling)
	Klang Gates (Cycling)
	Ampang hills (Hiking)	First KL Seniors

 

Two comments should be made. Most of the cycling expeditions were done by the Seniors. However, the 1960 cohort of Second KL Boy Scouts seemed to be a uniquely intrepid bunch. They spent a day at Templer’s Park to show, in the words of the 1958 TL Chong Sun Yeh, that "tigers proved no encumbrance to their venturesome spirits!" On another note, these expeditions were always coupled with various other Scouting activities. For instance, during the 1961 cycle to Templer’s Park, the Second KL Seniors performed public duty by repairing a worn down bridge there.

The date 2 June 1962 was a momentous date for the First KL Seniors and Boy Scouts who held the Group’s first Annual Parents’ Campfire at Castle Camp. Parents and relations of the scouts were invited to witness the happy gathering. And again, on 4 May 1963, there was a Parents’ Campfire at Castle Camp which proved successful despite a heavy downpour. ASM Koh Tong Bak presented a prize for the best item from both Seniors and Boy Scouts. For an inter-patrol log book competition a prize was presented by ASM John Lever in the shape of a scroll. Group campfires, each patrol had to come out with their own skit. The Seniors collated a song book specially for the occasion. In those pre-copier days, they first had to type out the songs on a stencil which then had to be inked and mounted inside a cyclostyle machine which was located in the room next to the Headmaster's Office, where the School Clerk, Mr Richard Pavee, worked (he was also an ex-VI scout). Then the sheets were printed one a time by cranking a handle on the machine For refreshments, the Seniors made up their own syrup drinks, and even made ice-cream with an ice-cream making churn that they had to take turns to tumble by hand!

While keeping themselves busy with Troop meetings, excursions and competitions, the Scouts never forgot their public duty. School duty involved the usual traffic duties during Speech Day and Sports Day as well as setting up exhibitions (especially on pioneering) on Parents’ Day, but out of School duties were varied. The following table lists those duties recorded in various issues of The Victorian:

Because of their reliability the V.I. Scouts were often called for many public duties over the years. For instance, MAHA had been calling on the help of the V.I. Scouts since the 1930’s! Important events, too, such as the 1959 KL Centenary Celebrations (marking the 100th anniversary of the year when Hiu Siew and Ah Sze Keledek set up a trading village at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers), sought the professionalism of the V.I. Scouts. Nonetheless, the V.I. Scouts did not only serve in grand public events. During Job Weeks, they excelled themselves in a variety of cleaning jobs, cleaning of cow-dung included in its range! According to Kuan Beng Teik, School Captain 1963 and Second KL King Scout, they used to visit Government officials and expatriate enclaves such as Ampang Road, Kenny Hills and Circular Road for Job Weeks.

Interacting with Scouts from different places was also integral in building the worldwide fraternity of Scouts. 1956 was a busy year for the Second KL Seniors. On 22 February, they displayed to the public and the Chief Scout (and High Commissioner), Sir Donald MacGillivray, their new first-aid invention, the construction of a first-class and efficient ambulance with a few poles, a blanket and two bicycles. This event was held at the Selangor Padang on the occasion of the Founder’s Day Display. In April, six Seniors were invited among thirty other scouts from all over Malaya to camp and do water-skiing at Port Dickson with the Chief Scout. Then on the 12 August, they (with the Boy Scouts) sent a contingent of 15 scouts to the Centenoree Camp at Penang. In that same year, the Seniors also started corresponding with some Danish Scouts. Tape recordings of songs and educational notes on their respective countries and on Scouting were exchanged. Another busy year was 1959. On 5 March, the First KL Boy Scouts attended a rally at Castle Camp and built a tree-top shelter and an aerial runway. The aerial runway was essentially a cable-transport device allowing the passenger to do a ‘flying-fox’ stunt from one end of the ropes to the other - a remarkable feat, indeed, considering the age of the Boy Scouts. Meanwhile, two Second KL Seniors, TL Lee On Wing and SPL Chin Yuk Wah represented the Troop at the 10th World Jamboree at the Philippines in 1959. In August 1961, the Second KL Seniors attended a Champoree at Camp Semangat.

The Troops organised camps at least once during every term holiday. And whenever they could, the Troops would also have weekend camps, though mostly, such camps were organised by patrols for themselves. The range of places varied – from 'KL backyard' camps such as in Kenny Hills to places further afield like as Pangkor Island. Sometimes, these were just Training Camps, designed to train junior Scouts in the finer skills of campcraft and surviving out in the open. At other times, the honing of skills was more intense as inter-patrol competitions (like gadget construction, pioneering, some badgework and cooking in different styles such as backwoodsman) were held during the competition camps. In addition, there were also pleasure camps where boys could simply enjoy their term holidays with their Scout fraternity out in the open. Of course, this didn’t mean that Scouting was forgotten at these camps as there were still Scout activities like campfires.

In 1955, during the Easter Holidays in April, First KL camped at Kenny Hill. Second KL Seniors also organised several camps. They had a camp at Pangkor Island with some Chinese-speaking scouts from Johor. It is noted that communication-wise, they had to rely more on guesswork rather than actually understanding each other’s language! Yet, a fun time was had by all. Weekend camps were also the norm. Once, they went to Kampung Linggi at Negri Sembilan for a weekend camp, where they stayed with a troop of Malay-speaking scouts. One of the highlights of the trip was when hundreds of kampung folk turned up to share in the enjoyment of their campfire and hear one of the Group’s scouts, Sundram, sing a song which he claimed was in English, Mandarin, Malay and Italian! Meanwhile, in that same year, the Second KL Boy Scouts camped at Penang and Port Dickson. The following table lists other camps between 1955 and 1963 (only those described in detail in The Victorian have been listed; so, of course, there were more camps than those listed below. For instance, the weekly or fortnightly patrol camps are not listed):

It seemed as if there was no limit on the choice of campsites that the V.I. Troops could have (except for curfew and security restrictions raised by the Emergency). Of course it helped that many areas in Malaya and even Kuala Lumpur in the 1950’s were still undeveloped. Nonetheless, the V.I. Scouts could always find ‘campable’ sites by being resourceful and by avoiding being fussy. One example of such resourcefulness deserves a special mention, because it resulted in the creation of the National Scout Camp for Malaya. This was Camp Semangat, now known as Kem Sardon Jubir, located in Balakong, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, newly created in 1956. The site was developed thanks to the efforts of Mr Geoffrey Geldard, the Scout Master of the Second KL Seniors. In fact, it was the V.I. Scouts then who helped to plant trees on that site. Even today in 2002, it is one of the official scout camping sites of the Persekutuan Pengakap Malaysia, but lest we forget, it was the V.I. scout movement that contributed to its genesis in the mid-1950’s!

By the early 1960’s, the organisation of certain camps had already become regular fixtures. For First KL, these included the Group camp during the third term holidays, a training camp early in the year and then a first term camp and a second term camp. Likewise, Second KL had training camps early in the year and then a first term camp and a second term camp. Then there were inter-patrol camping competitions (after the training camp) for coveted awards - beer mug (First KL Seniors), Bone trophy (First KL Boy Scouts), Panther trophy (Second KL Boy Scouts). The Panther trophy was probably donated by ASM Kamarul Ariffin in the early 1950’s (Mr Chin Peng Lam recalls that everyone in Second KL had a nickname and Kamarul’s was ‘Blue Panther’).The benefits of establishing such regular camping schedules were many. The scouts would have time-frames to set goals for improving their Scout skills in readiness for the upcoming camp. For the leaders, such traditions gave them a basic planning framework for organising activities.

In conclusion, it cannot be denied that camping combines many scouting experiences into one concentrated event. Consequently, campcraft and other Scouting skills improved as boys practised and experimented with different ideas during those camps. This was unquestionably evinced in 1959 when the V.I. Groups clinched the top two places in the Kuala Lumpur District Competition held at Castle Camp from 5 to 6 July. The best Senior patrols of every Troop in Kuala Lumpur participated in that competition. The First KL Seniors emerged as champions while Second KL came second. In February 1960, First KL again proved their mettle when they emerged as victors in a competition among the best patrols in Selangor. Finally, after playing second fiddle for two years, the Second KL Seniors won the Inter-patrol competition for Kuala Lumpur District in 1962. They also represented the district and won the Selangor Inter-district Competition. As if to compensate for the loss of their Seniors, the First KL Boy Scouts emerged champions in Selangor and runner-up in the Federation in various competitions organised by the Scout Association in 1962. Nonetheless, it was not sheer grief for the First KL Seniors - on 24 February, the First KL Seniors took part in and won several trophies in the competitions held in Castle Camp, commemorating Founder’s Day on 22 February. All these achievements attested to the ability of the V.I. scouts.

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